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Windows 7: How to Remove Games link from Start Menu with Group Policy

- Create a new GPO and link it under the OU that the user is located.

- Go to User Configuration, Policies, Administrative Templates, Start Menu and Taskbar and enable "Remove Games link from Start Menu".

...

-  You can also apply the following to prevent the user from acces and hide the A, B , C and D drive from my Computer.

- Go to User Configuration, Policies, Administrative Templates, Windows Components/Windows Explorer. Now enable "Hide these specified drives in My Computer" and Restrict A, B, C and D drives only. Also enable "Prevent access to drives from My Computer" and Restrict A, B, C and D drives only.


Note:
If the user is a administrator the policy will not be set.

Windows 8: Unattend Installation using WDS

---Setup---
 
- Download the ISO file for Windows 8 from the Microsoft Homepage.

- Extract the "Install.wim" and "boot.wim" with 7zip or another tool. The WIM files are located in the "sources" folder.

- Rename the Install.wim i.e. to Win8.ENT.EN and add it to your WDS Server.
Win8 = Windows 8
ENT=Enterprise
EN=English

- Add the boot.wim as boot image also to your server.

- On your server go to "\RemoteInstall\Images\Basic Images\" and create a folder that have the same name that your image have "Win8.ENT.EN".

- In the folder "Win8.ENT.EN" created a folder named "Unattend".

- Open Notepad and copy in the follwoing text and save it as ImageUnattend.xml in the "Unattend" folder. You have to change the domain join ,time zone and locale settings.

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="specialize">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <ComputerName>*</ComputerName>
            <TimeZone>W. Europe Standard Time</TimeZone>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-UnattendedJoin" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <Identification>
                <Credentials>
                    <Domain>YOURdomain.com</Domain>
                    <Password>PW678231bn!8</Password>
                    <Username>domainjoin</Username>
                </Credentials>
                <JoinDomain>YOURdomain.com</JoinDomain>
            </Identification>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="oobeSystem">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <InputLocale>de-de</InputLocale>
            <UILanguage>de-de</UILanguage>
            <UserLocale>de-de</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <OOBE>
                <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
                <NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
                <ProtectYourPC>1</ProtectYourPC>
            </OOBE>
            <Themes>
                <DefaultThemesOff>true</DefaultThemesOff>
            </Themes>
            <UserAccounts>
                <AdministratorPassword>
                    <Value>AdminPW123!</Value>
                    <PlainText>true</PlainText>
                </AdministratorPassword>
                <LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Password>
                            <Value>AdminPW123!</Value>
                            <PlainText>true</PlainText>
                        </Password>
                        <Description>Admin Account</Description>
                        <DisplayName>Admin</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>admin</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                </LocalAccounts>
            </UserAccounts>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="wim:d:/install.wim#Windows 8 Enterprise" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>

- The image will be automatically linked to your xml file.

- For HDD disk configuration settings you have to add a second xml. Save the following XML to "\RemoteInstall\WdsClientUnattend" and name it Unattend64.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <DiskConfiguration>
                <WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
                <Disk wcm:action="add">
                    <CreatePartitions>
                        <CreatePartition wcm:action="add">
                            <Order>1</Order>
                            <Type>Primary</Type>
                            <Extend>true</Extend>
                        </CreatePartition>
                    </CreatePartitions>
                    <ModifyPartitions>
                        <ModifyPartition wcm:action="add">
                            <Active>true</Active>
                            <Format>NTFS</Format>
                            <Label>System</Label>
                            <Letter>C</Letter>
                            <Order>1</Order>
                            <PartitionID>1</PartitionID>
                        </ModifyPartition>
                    </ModifyPartitions>
                    <DiskID>0</DiskID>
                    <WillWipeDisk>true</WillWipeDisk>
                </Disk>
            </DiskConfiguration>
            <WindowsDeploymentServices>
                <Login>
                    <Credentials>
                        <Domain></Domain>
                        <Username></Username>
                        <Password></Password>
                    </Credentials>
                </Login>
                <ImageSelection>
                    <WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
                    <InstallImage>
                        <ImageName></ImageName>
                        <ImageGroup></ImageGroup>
                        <FileName></FileName>
                    </InstallImage>
                    <InstallTo>
                        <DiskID>0</DiskID>
                        <PartitionID>1</PartitionID>
                    </InstallTo>
                </ImageSelection>
            </WindowsDeploymentServices>
        </component>
    </settings>
</unattend>

- After this open the WDS console go to the "Client" tab, select "Enable unattended installation" and choose your created xml file for "ia64 architecture" and "x64 architecture". For ia64 change the XML.

- The user who start the installation, have to enter his credentials and to choose the uploaded Windows 8 image. You can also point to an image and provide the credentials in the XML.


---Settings that will be applied----

Admin Account => PW = AdminPW123!, Name = admin 
LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Password>
                            <Value>AdminPW123!</Value>
                            <PlainText>true</PlainText>
                        </Password>
                        <Description>Local Admin</Description>
                        <DisplayName>Admin</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>admin</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
</LocalAccounts>

Computer name => Random
<ComputerName>*</ComputerName> 
For using the prestaged computer object in Active Directory use the following
<ComputerName>%machinename%</ComputerName>

Locale/Language => Germany for other locations see Windows Locale Codes
<InputLocale>de-de</InputLocale>
<UILanguage>de-de</UILanguage>
<UserLocale>de-de</UserLocale>


---Notes---

You can created your own XML with encrypted user passwords etc. using Windows ADK